Hundreds of people turned out to pay their respects to a central Indiana man killed when a military transport airplane crashed into an Alaska mountain in 1952.

Howard Martin of Elwood was 21 and serving in the Air Force when 52 people aboard the plane were killed in the crash. The crash site was rediscovered two years ago, and testing has confirmed the identities of about a third of those onboard.

Martin's younger brother, Paul, tells The Herald Bulletin the family is grateful, saying Thursday's return of the remains bring closure.

Martin will be buried next to his parents who bought the plot for him believing one day his body would return to his hometown about 30 miles northeast of Indianapolis.

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